37 Underrated Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas for 2022

1. Learn How to Prospect on LinkedIn

Beverly Ruffner, Real Estate Coach

“Instead of trying to prospect for leads on Facebook or Instagram where you have to compete with cute kitten videos, why not use the platform that was specifically designed for professional networking? I am, of course, talking about LinkedIn. The one social media platform agents still seem to ignore.

“If you want to get better leads this year, then learning how to prospect on LinkedIn will help. It puts you in front of professionals when and where they actually expect to talk business instead of where they go to relax.”

[Related article: 9 Ways Smart Real Estate Agents Are Using LinkedIn to Get Better Leads]

2. Buy Exclusive Seller Leads From Market Leader

Susan Isaac, Agent at Houlihan Lawrence, Greenwich, Connecticut

“Market Leader owns one of the largest and best home valuation sites online: housevalues.com. Homeowners use the site to check the value of properties they’re interested in selling. Market Leader then sends those exclusive leads out to agents who claim their ZIP code. This is one of the best ways to generate seller leads at the beginning of their buyer journey before other agents have a chance to pitch them.

“If you want to check if Market Leader has exclusive seller leads for you, check availability in your ZIP code here.”

Visit Market Leader

3. Work Divorce Leads

Kelly Lise Murray, J.D., Co-founder & CEO, Divorcethishouse.com

“OK, let’s stop beating around the bush here. Competition for the low-hanging fruit leads in pretty much any farm area is usually fierce.

“If you want to get and close more leads, sometimes it can help to think outside the box. Do you want genuinely motivated leads? How about leads that have a court order to sell their home? How about leads who really, really, really want to move?

“If you’ve got reserves of patience and empathy, then working divorce leads might be the perfect lead generation strategy to close a few more deals this year. There’s even a designation—RCS-D (Real Estate Collaboration Specialist – Divorce)—that you can get to show potential divorce clients that you know your stuff and mean business.”

4. Use BoldLeads’ New Platform to Generate Exclusive Buyer & Seller Leads

The Close Editorial Team

As far as underrated real estate lead generation goes, BoldLeads’ advanced new platform is hiding in plain sight. Gone are the days of merely handing out leads. Today, BoldLeads offers a cutting-edge platform that generates exclusive buyer and seller leads, advanced targeting, marketing, nurturing tools, and expert training to help you close more of the leads you get.

BoldLeads’ platform is so powerful that they now offer agents 5x the return on investment (ROI) of direct mail. Click below for a free tour of BoldLeads’ game-changing new platform.

Visit BoldLeads

5. Build a Brand That Generates Leads While You Sleep

Kyle Scott, President of SERHANT. Ventures

“You should be generating leads while you sleep—and you do that by building a compelling and memorable personal brand. A personal brand is not just what people say about you when you’re not in the room; it’s how to get people to talk about you when you’re nowhere near that room!

“Your personal brand will generate compound interest on your investments and, over time, the daily deposits you make into your brand turn into a massive lead generation machine that gets prospective leads coming to you, even when you’re sleeping.”

Want to learn how to build a brand that can generate leads while you sleep? Check out Ryan Serhant’s Ultimate Personal Brand Course for Real Estate Agents.

[Related article: The Best Real Estate Branding of 2022 + Tips From the Pros]

6. Use Slydial Broadcast to Circle Prospect Just Sold & Open Houses

Christina Griffin, Tampa Bay Realtor & Team Leader

Circle prospecting is one of the best ways to stake out your claim in your farm area. If you want to become the real estate agent in a neighborhood, you’re going to have to get in front of the neighbors as often as possible.

The only problem is that some neighborhoods are already blanketed with door hangers, flyers, and postcards from your competition. With a little creativity, you can beat the competition to the chase before they get their flyers printed.

Working with real estate coach Tom Ferry, Tampa Bay Realtor Christina Griffin came up with an ingenious strategy to reach homeowners in her farm area.

She bought lists of homeowners’ cell numbers, then, after cross-checking with the DNC, used a clever app called Slydial Broadcast to leave them all voicemails advertising her next open house automatically.

The response was immediate and massive. She got 200 leads on her first day.

[Related article: Case Study: How One Tampa Realtor Got 200 Leads in ONE DAY]

7. Learn to Scale Your Lead Generation With a Smart CRM

Sean Moudry, Real Estate Coach, Speaker & Author

“Most people think getting started is the hardest thing to do in real estate. But most people have never tried to scale a successful real estate business. Trust me, it’s much, much harder. I should know. Ten years ago, I scaled a brokerage to 100 people, but it didn’t last. The problem was that there were only so many hours in a day, and our leads and clients needed us ASAP, 24/7. Mere mortals couldn’t keep up … then the recession hit.

“Luckily, now it’s 2022, so we have apps like Zurple that use patent-pending software to analyze a lead’s behavior to figure out when they’re ready to transact, BEFORE they’re ready to transact. Even better, they generate those leads for you so you can actually focus on closing. It’s the software I wish I had 10 years ago.”

Learn More About Zurple

8. Pick Up the Phone & Make Outbound Phone Calls Without Even Using Slydial

Leigh Brown, Realtor, CEO, Author, Coach & Speaker, Leigh Brown

“Calls to whom? The contacts in your phone. The people you actually know. Statistics show that an estimated one-third of the public does something related to real estate annually―renovations, updates, repairs, refinancing, buying, or selling―and savvy realtors are there for all of those steps in the work of being the trusted realtor adviser over time.

“Costs nothing. How to make it happen? Set a doable goal of one call per day. It will get done—and once you do one, you’re likely to make two.”

[Related article: Long-term Lead Nurturing: Tips & Scripts to Avoid Overtasking]

9. Send Sales Letters to Absentee Owners

Jason Pantana, Tom Ferry Master Coach, Speaker

“Good old-fashioned sales letters. There’s a difference between direct mail and drip mail. Most of the time in real estate, we call drip mail ‘direct mail.’ For instance, sending postcards twice a month to a geographic farm isn’t direct mail—despite calling it that—because it usually isn’t angling for a ‘direct response.’

“To the contrary, it’s more about creating top-of-mind awareness and branding. Direct mail has more to do with organizing a vetted and scrubbed list of ideal recipients and then delivering a calibrated letter—or a few letters in a row—that are designed to get the recipients to take action within a relatively short time frame. Sending sales letters to absentee owners is an excellent way to do it.

[Related article: 15 Best Real Estate Prospecting Letter Templates for 2022]

10. Use Predictive Analytics to Get Leads & Farm Your Local Area

Chris Linsell, Real Estate Coach & Senior Staff Writer, The Close

“Predictive analytics has been waiting in the wings of real estate marketing for a couple of years now, but it stormed the stage and grabbed the spotlight with the emergence of SmartZip. SmartZip uses artificial intelligence (AI) to parse hundreds of data points from across the internet and from your local MLS to determine which property owners in your targeted geographic area are most likely to sell this year.

“That means rather than trying to market to an entire community, you can focus only on property owners who are most likely to sell and ensure you’re the first real estate agent they talk to. Lock down your territory with SmartZip here.”

Visit SmartZip

11. Meet Your Top 50 Contacts in Person Once per Quarter

Nate Martinez, Owner, RE/MAX Professionals

“Lead generation is about personal connection. At our office, we have created our ‘Top 50′ program, where we designate the top people in our network who have the greatest potential to bring in one piece of business. From there, we look to meet with our contacts once a quarter face-to-face to learn more about their lives and develop a deeper relationship with them. We also host exclusive parties and events, which we invite our ‘Top 50’ to, including movie nights, parties, and so on. Leveraging your network is a great way to generate leads and in order to get those, you need to build strong personal relationships with them.”

[Related article: 10 Unique Client Appreciation Event Ideas: Lead Gen With Cocktails?]

12. Build Local Connections That Lead to the Best Referrals

Any experienced agent will tell you that referrals are the best source of new leads. The only problem is that referrals can be hard to come by, especially for newer agents. That’s where Parkbench comes in.

Parkbench offers agents a way to generate referrals from local business owners and influencers. They build you a hyper-local website and offer expert training to help you use it to generate the referrals that lead to deals and MORE referrals.

The best part? Parkbench only allows a limited number of agents per local area. Click below to find out if your farm area is still available.

See if Your Farm Is Available

13. Sign Up to Do BPOs, Then Market to the Owners of Distressed Homes

Sebastian Frey, Broker & Owner, Realty World Virtuoso

“When a borrower starts to miss payments on a mortgage, a lender or loan servicer will often order a ‘broker price opinion’ (BPO) on a property in case they end up having to foreclose, do a loan modification, or short sale. They may do this before it is reported as a late payment to a credit agency, and well before they file a notice of default. This is an early indicator of a homeowner who may need to sell sooner rather than later.”

14. Host a First-time Buyer’s Seminar

Sean Moudry, Speaker, Author & Real Estate Coach, 16 Strategies

“Even though the information is freely available online, many new buyers still have questions about buying a home … lots and lots of questions. Offering them a low-pressure space to get their questions about buying answered can be a great way to generate some leads.

“The trick is to choose five or so common questions to answer in your seminar, and then include a few more not-so-common questions you can use in your marketing to draw people in. For example, you can talk about how to find hidden listing inventory or buy foreclosure listings to get people through the door.”

15. Pitch Your Listing (or Expertise) to News Outlets

Christian Petterson, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development & Realtor, iSella.com

“Most people do not think about pitching their listings to news outlets, but it has surprisingly proven to be one of the best strategies for getting a lot of leads extremely quickly. One of my listings was featured in a New York Times article last week, and I have been receiving at least five calls a day since publication—I had three showings just today. It’s amazing to see the response you get when backed by a reputable publication. Not only can I sell a property extremely quickly through the publicity, but I gain a lot of new clients for other listings as well. The response from media coverage has blown me away every time.”

[Related article: 5 PR Strategies Any Agent Can Use to Get Free Press in 2022]

16. Connect With Pet-loving Leads by Sponsoring a Local Adoption Event

Alisa Cunningham, Realtor, Douglas Elliman

“A great opportunity is to approach local animal shelters or rescue groups and offer to sponsor an adoption event. You give them money to pay for renting a space, tables, and canopy shelters, maybe hire food trucks to be there, do advertising for them, and then show up and work the event. People love their pets—most people consider them members of the family.

“Being of service and finding a home for those abandoned pets is critical work and usually appreciated, plus you get to talk to people. Pet lovers bond with other pet lovers. ‘Creating home for you and your pets’ or ‘Finding homes for you and your pets’ or something like that. But you have to be a pet lover yourself.”

[Related article: Dear Real Estate Agents: Your Local Community Needs You Now More Than Ever]

17. Use Deep Insight From Zillow My Agent to Convert More Leads

Miranda Paquet, General Manager, The Close

“Did you know that even after a buyer contacts an agent, they go back to Zillow an average of 27 times and look at 77 more listing pages in 30 days? That means that even if you answered your phone right away and wowed them, there’s still a huge chance they’ll wind up working with someone else. Even worse, you’ll never even know it. They’ll just stop returning your calls.

“So if you want to 3x your lead conversion, then Zillow Premier Agent’s new feature, My Agent, is for you. It puts only your contact information on every single listing your lead looks at after they contact you.

“Even better, My Agent provides agents with deep insight on which properties they’re viewing, saving, and searching for on Zillow.”

Visit Zillow

18. Master Cold Calling

Beverly Ruffner, Real Estate Coach, BeverlyRuffner.com

“While your competition is sitting back waiting for leads to roll in from Instagram or Pinterest, take the bold route and pick up the phone.

“Sure, it’s a little intimidating to get hung up on, but there is no better way to build the thick skin you’ll need to become a top-producing real estate agent.”

[Related article: 24 Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts and Tips to Conquer Your Fears]

19. Drive More Engagement With Instagram Stories

Eric Simon, aka The Broke Agent

Like every other social media platform, Instagram has been pushing users to create more videos. Why? They want to keep creators creating on their platform, and they want to keep their followers engaged. Video is the best way to do that.

Of course, creating engagement with Instagram Stories isn’t easy and doesn’t come naturally for many older agents. If you want to learn the ropes, check out Eric Simon’s (aka The Broke Agent) excellent article below. Eric built his Instagram account to 350,000 followers using these same lead generation strategies.

[Related article: Instagram Stories for Agents: 12 Easy Ways to Drive Engagement]

20. Hand Out Free Seasonal Treats With Your Business Card

Nelene Gibbs, Broker & Owner, Nelene Gibbs Real Estate

“One suggestion I offered my newer agents was to go to the mall or shopping center during the holiday shopping season and hand out business cards attached to a candy cane to everyone walking by. No need to wait in line to see Santa to get a candy cane. Spread a little Christmas cheer with the candy canes and, hopefully, pick up a new client or two for the new year. Everyone loves a candy cane at Christmas.

“One other suggestion I had was to print water bottle labels, go to the shopping areas where the crowds line up waiting for the big Black Friday sales events, and pass out water bottles with your brand—business card—on them to the crowds waiting in line.”

[Related article: The Best & Worst Real Estate Business Cards of 2022]

21. Get 97% Open Rates Using Automated Text Marketing

Jeff Manson, Founding Partner & CEO, Real Geeks

“Did you know that text messages have a whopping 97% open rate compared to 20% even for the best emails? The only problem is that tapping out individual texts to your leads takes up way too much time you could be spending cold calling.

“Using the advanced text messaging platform you get with Real Geeks CRM that comes bundled with its IDX websites, you can automate your text marketing and start filling your calendar with showings tomorrow.”

[Related article: My 6-Day New Lead Text Messaging Campaign + Agent Texting Scripts]

22. Use Seasonal Leave-behinds

Nick Slocum, Partner, Realtor, The Nick Slocum Team

“Far and away, our two best unique leave-behinds are when we had place an American flag on each lawn just prior to the Fourth of July and when we place a pumpkin on each doorstep around Halloween. The response is incredible and the connection to the community is even better. In fact, over the years, the neighbors have come to expect it and often refer to us as ‘The Pumpkin Guys’ or ‘The Flag Guys.’”

[Related article: 17 Clever Real Estate Pop-by Ideas to Get More Referrals in 2022]

23. Make a Plan & Work the Holidays

Courtney Poulos, Broker & Owner, Acme Realty

Since most of your fellow agents will head for the hills during the holidays, staying in the office can mean easy real estate lead generation. Here are a few tips from Los Angeles’ Acme Realty founder Courtney Poulos on generating leads during the holidays.

“My advice to newer agents who are looking to work through the holidays would be to use the fact that you are present and available during the holiday season as the dominant messaging in your marketing. If you have listings that you are going to be showing during the holidays, have holiday-themed events, such as a holiday-themed broker’s open with spiced cider, or at your Sunday open house, have a jazz musician playing holiday music. You can also take new pictures of the property with some holiday decorations to use in your social media posts.”

[Related article: What It’s Really Like When Realtors Work for the Holidays]

24. Build an IDX WordPress Website to Capture Leads

Chris Linsell, Real Estate Coach & Senior Staff Writer, The Close

“While the current breed of real estate lead generation websites are great, you never actually own one. Instead, you pay a monthly fee and your site goes poof and vanishes if you stop paying. That’s why building your own IDX website with WordPress is an investment that is well worth trying this year.

“Building a website with WordPress that actually generates leads isn’t easy, but as they say, the best time to plant a tree was five years ago but the second best time is now. You can get started building your site using our ultimate guide here: How to Build an IDX Real Estate Website: The Ultimate Guide 2021.”

25. Pitch Older Expired Listings

Dan Prud’homme, Owner, Carolina Realty Group

“I don’t just reach out to listings that are newly expired like everyone does, but I dig deeper and pay special attention to the ones that expired a year or more ago that never relisted. I figure that at some point these potential clients wanted to sell, so why not reach out to them to see what their plans are, how they may have changed, and how I could help them meet their objective. If their plan is to sell sometime in the future, I offer to assist them with a strategy so they’re ready to hit the ground running when the timing is perfect.”

[Related article: 15 Best Expired Listing Scripts & Objection Handlers 2021]

26. Become a ‘Coffee House Consultant’

Justin Potier, Broker, Carrington Real Estate Services

Since you’re going to spend a ton of time in coffee shops anyway, why not advertise your services for free? Justin Potier of Carrington Real Estate Services had an agent who set up their laptop to work, then put up a little sign that said “Free real estate advice.”

27. Network at More Non-Real Estate-related Events

Eseosa ‘Sosa’ Eke, Marketing Consultant & Brand Strategist

“If you’re going to events where everyone else is just like you, your odds of meeting quality leads are slim to none.

“Instead of going to the same old real estate mixers or networking events, think outside the box and join some non-real estate-related local events. Your next client can be found at a community yoga workshop, a sip-and-paint night, a book reading, or even at a concert.

“Just be careful of trying to ‘sell’ to people you meet. Instead, go to an event you’ll truly enjoy, engage in the flow of conversation, and when you get the ‘what do you do?’ question, give them an answer that truly makes your real estate services shine. Even if you don’t get any new leads, you’ll spend time doing things you love. How can you go wrong?”

28. Try Ranking Articles on Google for Luxury or Historic Listings

Tristan Roberts, Lake Tahoe Realtor

“Too many people believe that the time has passed to rank organically on Google successfully—specifically targeting ranking opinion articles for individual property addresses and then providing ‘the rest of the story’ so the potential buyers can read your opinions of the property’s strengths and weaknesses. This works extremely well with very high-end or historic properties. The buyer gets to hear your tone and gets a feel for your personality as well as some honest insight about the property they’re considering buying.”

[Related article: Real Estate SEO: 11 Tips to Dominate Local Search & Get Free Leads in 2021]

29. Get Some Fresh Air: Start Door Knocking

Emile L’Eplattenier, Managing Editor, The Close

“While everyone else in your office is busy with the latest social media fad (TikTok, anyone?), why not head out into the fresh air and fill your customer relationship manager (CRM) the old-fashioned way? Go knock on some doors! It’s actually a lot easier than you might think, and is also a fantastic way to hone your elevator pitch and actually flex your sales muscles.”

[Related article: Door Knocking for Real Estate in 2021: Will It Still Work? (+ Tips & Scripts)]

30. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce

Cynthia Emerling, Associate Broker, Finger Lakes Premier Properties

“If you join your local chamber of commerce, you can get your name and business listed in newsletters and websites and get referrals and make valuable connections who are well established in your area.

“You can become members of the town and county chambers that your office is in, as well as nearby areas or counties that you serve or have offices in. Similarly, you can look into becoming a member of a destination marketing organization (DMO) or convention and visitors bureau (CVB). Sometimes these are the same as the Chamber and other times they are a separate entity.”

31. Help Your Buyers Find an Investment, Not Just a Home

Rebecca Saenz, Realtor, RE/MAX Estate Properties Los Angeles

“I have found through the years that agents do not have enough knowledge of how to guide their clients through real estate investing from their primary residence. I work with business managers and accountants to share business and guide our clients together to gain wealth through real estate.

“Most people think you buy a house and live in it, sell it, and buy another one, but what if they kept that first house and bought another one, and gained passive income from the first? I have clients for life because they trust I’m guiding them on the right path of when and what to sell based on their needs and income desires in the future.”

[Related article: 3 Types of Real Estate Investing Every Agent Needs to Learn]

32. Schedule Outreach With Your Sphere Every Day

Akos Straub, Top-producing Chicago Realtor

“In my opinion, the best underrated lead generating technique is accessing and utilizing your current network. After all, unlike cold internet leads, these are people who probably already know and trust you. So, carve out time every day to reach out to your sphere and just ask for business. Lead generation doesn’t get much simpler or more effective than this.”

[Related article: 7 Tips for Building Your Sphere of Influence in Real Estate (+ Script)]

33. Become a Reliable Source of Real Estate Expertise in Facebook Groups

Bryan Bowles, Founder & CEO, Transactly

“You don’t need to create one, but get involved. For example, create a survey to find out ‘What’s stopping you from buying a home?’ and then engage people individually in a very casual manner. The key is coming up with creative content that makes people want to participate, remaining consistent, and measuring the results. I see too many agents who let these things go if they don’t see immediate results or start getting busy.”

34. Create an Avatar of Your Ideal Client & Then Target Them on Social Media

Kyle Alfriend, REMAX Hall of Fame Agent

“Create an ‘avatar’ of your ideal client—their income, interests, personality, age, family size, and hobbies. Then, post a steady stream of videos and blogs on all social media outlets—all about those things. If they are active, start running and biking, and posting updates on your activities. If they have school-age children, attend school sporting events, concerts, and plays, and post about them.

“Restaurants, wine enthusiasts, religious events, sporting events, hiking, swimming, and charitable causes—identify your ideal client, then post yourself being involved in the things they do.”

[Related article: How to Create Real Estate Facebook Ads That Actually Generate Leads]

35. Reward Your Referral Sources With a Handwritten Note & Gift Card

Heidi Sutter, Sutter-Smith Group, Coldwell Banker

Even if they already love you, everyone loves getting presents, even small ones. That’s why Coldwell Banker agent Heidi Sutter’s system of rewarding referral sources helps keep a steady stream of referrals in her inbox:

“For me, one of the best lead generating tools has been to reward my referrals with a handwritten note and gift card. Doing so has been key for my business and proven to be one of the best ways to connect with clients, friends, and family who are kind enough to refer my services. Here’s my formula:

• $5 gift card and thank-you note at introduction to the referral
• $10 gift card for gas, along with a handwritten note thanking them for the referral again and providing a quick update on the progress, once buyer or seller signs a contract or lists
• Hand-delivered $50 gift card to a local restaurant once the client closes

“This helps make and maintain a personal connection.”

[Related article: 7 Real Estate Thank-you Notes That Create Clients for Life (Templates)]

36. Call People in Your Sphere to Mark Milestones & Birthdays

Gina Guajardo, Sterling Johnson & Associates, a Leverage Global Partners’ Brokerage

“I do not cold call but I do call people in my sphere to congratulate them about their milestones—and that brings results, guaranteed. It’s a great way to stay connected and top of mind. Take birthdays, for example. Every day, Facebook will tell you whose birthday it is, so you just have to pick up the phone and call them.

“[Almost all] of the people you call will appreciate it, and guess who they will recommend or work with when the time is right? Same goes for milestones like a new job or pregnancy news. How awesome to get a call from your friend who happens to be a realtor?”

[Related article: 10 Easy Ways to Make Your Clients Feel Appreciated This Week]

37. Find a New Niche & Work It Relentlessly

Emile L’Eplattenier, Managing Editor, The Close

“If you’re not getting enough high quality leads, you might be in the wrong niche or worse, not working a niche at all. Many agents just kind of fall into whatever niche seems easy during their first two or three years in real estate and never take the time to find one that works for their skill set and makes them money.

“So if you want to generate more (and better) leads in 2022, try working a new niche. Here are six ideas to get you started: 6 Red-hot Real Estate Niches That Can Double Your GCI in 2021 & Beyond.